Exodus 27:5

Summary

The verse instructs that the net (grating) be placed under the ledge of the altar, positioned from below, so that this net reaches up to the middle of the altar's height.

Key words

• na.ta.Tah ("you will put", H5414) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; continues a chain of prior instructions with an implied "you shall" force.
• Ta.chat ("under", H8478) — masculine singular noun in construct state, meaning it must be followed by "of" — here "under [the ledge] of."
• kar.Ko ("[the] ledge of", H3749) — masculine singular construct noun, linking to "the altar" that follows; denotes a rim or projecting border.
• Re.shet ("net", H7568) — feminine singular noun with the definite article ha, referring back to an object already introduced earlier in the passage (the grating structure).
• cha.Tzi ("[the] middle of", H2677) — masculine singular construct noun, again requiring a following genitive ("of the altar").

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the narrative vav on na.ta.Tah ("and you will put"), continuing a sequence of instructions given earlier in the chapter. The object is marked by 'oTah — the direct object marker H0853 fused with the third-person feminine singular suffix "her/it" (H9034), referring to something previously mentioned, presumably the net or grating. This object is placed tachat karkov ha-mizbeach — "under the ledge of the altar" — a construct chain where tachat and karkov both function as construct nouns pointing toward ha-mizbeach ("the altar," H4196). The phrase mi-le-Matah combines two prepositions (H9006, H9005) with the adverb "downwards" (H4295), reinforcing the low positional placement, roughly "from below."

The second clause begins with another sequential perfect, hayetah ("it will be," H1961), now agreeing grammatically with the feminine noun ha-Reshet ("the net," H7568) that follows it — suggesting the subject and verb are separated but linked by gender agreement. The preposition 'ad ("to," H5704) governs chatzi ha-mizbeach, a construct phrase meaning "the middle of the altar," specifying the vertical extent the net's structure reaches.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the object as αὐτοὺς ("them," plural), where the Hebrew 'oTah uses a singular feminine suffix ("it/her"). This suggests the Greek version treats the referent as multiple items (likely the rings or hooks mentioned earlier), while the Hebrew treats it as a single object (the net). The Vulgate follows this plural sense with Quos pones ("which you shall place," relative pronoun plural). Both LXX (ἐσχάρα, "grating") and Vulgate (craticula, "small grating") render ha-Reshet ("the net") with a term emphasizing a solid grate structure rather than the netting/mesh sense the Hebrew noun reshet can carry.